Hymn #185 in the current hymnbook is entitled, “Reverently and Meekly Now.” The words are written from the Savior’s viewpoint, which is unusual when compared to our other hymns, which speak about the Savior from a third-person viewpoint. As we study the words, we can imagine our Savior pleading with us to more fully accept His sacrifice as we partake of the sacrament.
Think of me, thou ransomed one;
Think what I for thee have done.
How truly He did ransom us. He paid the price for our sins so we, if we choose to repent, don’t have to endure the agony of guilt.
With my blood that dripped like rain,
Sweat in agony of pain,
With my body on the tree
I have ransomed even thee.
He suffered more pain and anguish than any of us will ever be called upon to endure, because He felt it all at once. This He did because He loved us.
As we sang this hymn in preparation for the sacrament this last Sunday, I was most struck by the following line, which is to me the most touching of the hymn:
Be obedient, I implore,
As we sing the hymn, we recall everything He did and we appreciate His sacrifice. But as we sing, “Be obedient, I implore,” we feel the beseeching in that word, “implore.” He wants us to take full advantage of what He did. He doesn’t want it to become wasted in sin and selfishness.
With the text written in first person like it was, it gives us the chance, as we sing the words, to imagine for a moment that we are in Christ’s place, and we realize more fully than ever before that we could not have done what He did. He was the only One who could have come to this earth and with such perfect love, carried out the mission that was given Him.
This hymn was written by Joseph L. Townsend, with music by Ebenezer Beesley. I can’t help but feel that a great deal of inspiration went, not only into the writing of the lyrics, but the tune as well, which lends a sufficiently humble tone to the words, but without too much darkness.
The text of the hymn first appeared in 1891, and it was praised by the journal of the Hymn Society of America for its special poignancy in 1986.
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